A Soldier's Heart Page 7

  She tilted her head to the side and gave him a considering look. “I’m tempted to say one of those mushy chick flicks your friend sent you. However, I’ll settle for anything good as long as you serve some decent refreshments, preferably involving caramel corn and chocolate.”

  “It’s a deal. See you after dinner on Tuesday.”

  Spence watched her walk away, enjoying the view for several seconds before heading back inside. He glanced back one more time and caught Amanda watching him. She blushed and quickly looked away.

  His mood much improved, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Okay, then, this is going to be fun.”

  Inside, Mooch was stretched out on Nick’s bed and watching the door. “Damn it, dog, I keep telling you that Sarge doesn’t want you on there. Now get your worthless ass over here.” Spence sat down on the bed and studied the business card Amanda had given him. Mooch joined him, curling up on Spence’s pillow, staring at the small piece of paper as if he sensed it was important.

  “Guess there’s only one way to find out, Mooch.”

  He reached for his laptop. Nick and Leif walked in as he was waiting for it to boot up. Mooch perked up and jumped off the bed to park his backside right in front of Leif. He’d already learned which of the other two was most likely to have a treat in his pocket for him. Sure enough, Leif pulled a stick of beef jerky out of his pocket.

  “Damn dog, how do you know I didn’t buy this for me?”

  Even as he groused about it, Leif peeled off the wrapper and broke off a piece to feed to Mooch. The dog, happy with his portion, hopped back up on Spence’s bed to chow down. Leif waited until he’d finished off that much and then handed him the rest.

  Nick stowed his gear and dug up a bottle of water. “Was that the vet stopping by again?”

  Spence brought up the website of the rescue organization. “Yeah, she brought some of my movies back as a pretext for checking on Mooch. She’s happy with how he’s healing up, and she’ll be back in a couple of days to give him the rest of his vaccinations. We thought we’d schedule a movie night to cover the real reason for her visit.”

  Okay, that was almost the truth. “Hope that’s okay, Sarge.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Nick wandered closer. “What are you looking at?”

  Spence pointed to the screen. “There’s an organization that helps soldiers bring home the cats and dogs they’ve adopted over here. The vet gave me their contact information while she was here.”

  “So you’re thinking about bringing Mooch back to the States with you.”

  Spence nodded. “Yeah. I sure as hell can’t leave him here, not after he saved our collective asses the other night.”

  Leif tossed Spence a bag of candy, his favorite kind. “What’s it say?”

  “I’m still reading.”

  He swallowed hard when he saw the cost, but it wasn’t as if he had anyone else to spend his money on. It was the other requirement that had him cursing. Mooch whined and sidled closer to put his head in Spence’s lap.

  Both men parked on the side of Leif’s bed to face Spence. “What’s wrong, Wheels?”

  Nick hazarded a guess. “I’ve heard rumors about the program. The cost per animal is in the thousands, not to mention the logistics of getting the animal to where it can be picked up for shipping. Seems like a lot of money to spend when there’s all kinds of animals already in the States that could use a good home.”

  Okay, that pissed Spence off big time. “But those dogs didn’t save my life, did they?”

  Nick held up his hands. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go for it, Spence. I’m just talking about the cost.”

  “Yeah, it’s pricey, but I can handle that part.” Spence tried to minimize the worry in his voice because Mooch was picking up on it. “The problem is finding someone on the other end who’ll take care of Mooch until I get home.”

  “What about Callie?”

  “She’d do it for me, but her job in Portland is short term. There’s no telling where she’ll go next when it ends or how she’ll be living. Sometimes she’s only on the job for a couple of weeks. When that happens, she stays in one of those motels with a kitchen. Even if they’d take pets, that’s no life for a dog, even temporarily.”

  “How about her parents?”

  “Again, they’d probably do it if they’re going to be around. Ever since her dad retired, they’ve been traveling a lot. Part of the year they live in Snowberry Creek, but the rest of the time they follow the sunshine. Last I heard they were planning on taking a long sweep across the South in their RV. I can’t ask them to give that up.”

  Mooch licked his hand, offering his own brand of comfort. “Don’t worry, guy. I’ll figure it out. Wait until you see the Pacific Northwest. All green and gorgeous. Not like this place at all.”

  Nick was about to say something when someone pounded on the door. Mooch automatically abandoned his place on the bed to duck into his hiding spot. Spence closed his laptop to hide the nature of the website he’d been looking at.

  “Sarge, they want to see you at headquarters. Looks like we’ll be pulling convoy duty again. We leave in an hour and will be back tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Nick shut the door before the man could say another word. “Spence, what are you going to do with Mooch while we’re gone?”

  Good question. “I’ll sneak him out for a quick walk right before we leave. He’ll be fine with a bowl of water and food.”

  “Damn it, I knew this would be a problem. Things would be so much easier if you hadn’t brought him here.”

  Spence held his breath, waiting for Nick to order him to dump Mooch back out on the street. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if that happened. There was no way he could bring himself to abandon his new friend. After only a few nights, he was already used to having Mooch sleeping sprawled across his legs at night.

  “While I’m at headquarters, call your vet friend to see if she can check on him for you.”

  Then he was out the door before Spence could say a word. He glanced toward Leif who looked as surprised as Spence felt.

  “Wow, Wheels, I thought for sure he was going to tell us we had to get rid of Mooch.”

  “Me, too. It’s impossible to guess which side of the fence he’s going to come down on lately. Wish I knew what was going on in that boy’s head. Either way, I’d better call Amanda before he changes his mind. I hope like hell she can help out.”

  Leif held up hand to show he was crossing his fingers as Spence made the call.

  Chapter 10

  The days were flying by, and Spence hated it. Between patrols and convoy duty, he hardly had a minute to call his own. The only bright spot was heading back to his quarters knowing Mooch would be waiting to greet them with a wagging tail and a round of doggie kisses for anyone who would sit still long enough.

  Normally, the end of a deployment was something to be celebrated, a chance to go home for a much needed dose of normal. That wasn’t the case this time. So far, Spence hadn’t been able to firm up plans for getting Mooch back to the States. Thanks to Amanda and her friends, the dog was up to date on all the required vaccinations and had the health certificate to prove it.

  But that was just one item checked off the list. Next, he needed to hear back to see if Mooch had been accepted by the organization that would oversee Mooch’s trip halfway around the world. Once he knew for sure, he’d work on the next problem, where the dog would live until Spence himself got home.

  What would Mooch think of his small hometown in Washington state? Snowberry Creek was certainly a far cry from anything the dog had ever known. The town was nestled in the foothills of the Cascades and within spitting distance of Mount Rainier, the towering volcano that overshadowed the area.

  “You’ll love my yard, dog. It’s so big that it will take you weeks just to mark your territory.”<
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  If Mooch got to ever see it. Despite everyone’s good intentions, things could still fall apart. Right now, Spence’s fingers remained frozen in place on the keys of his laptop as he gathered up the courage to see if he’d heard back from the woman who’d promised to have an answer for him today.

  Nick and Leif both knew today was the day. He was sort of waiting for them to come in before checking. If the news was good, he wanted to share the joy. If it wasn’t, well, he’d need their support even if he’d rather chew on nails than admit that to them.

  When the door opened, he started typing. Leif plunked down on the bed beside Spence and Mooch while Nick settled in across from where they sat. While they watched him, he watched the twirling circle on the screen as he waited for the program to load.

  “What’s taking it so long?”

  As if Spence had any idea. Finally, his e-mail popped up. He scanned the few new arrivals. When he got to the bottom of the list, his stomach did a slow roll.

  “It’s here.”

  Nick was the impatient one now. “Staring at it won’t help. Open the damn thing.”

  As Leif put his hand on his shoulder in support, Spence closed his eyes and hit Enter, hating that something so important in his life was in control of total strangers. After drawing a long, slow breath he opened his eyes and scanned the e-mail.

  He read it a second time and then a third. Finally, the words all made sense and the news was good. Great, even.

  After carefully setting the laptop aside, he jumped up and shouted, “Hot damn! Mooch got in under the wire! They were able to squeeze him in on their last scheduled flight!”

  Leif joined him in high-fiving while Nick grabbed Mooch to keep him from getting trampled under their boots as they celebrated. Unable to join in their celebration, the dog settled for licking Nick’s face in between bouts of barking.

  When Spence sat down on the floor, Nick released Mooch, who dove off the bed to land Spence’s lap. Leif joined them, fishing a piece of jerky out of his pocket for the dog.

  “So what’s next?”

  “They said to hold off on sending the money until they firm up dates and times.”

  With a flip of the wrist, Leif sent an envelope flying through the air right at Spence’s face. He snagged it out of the air. “What’s this?”

  “My contribution toward the cost of getting Mooch home.”

  Spence opened the envelope and read the number on the check inside. “Are you sure? Did you take this out of your college fund?”

  “Yes, I’m sure, and where I got it is none of your damn business.” Leif softened his comment with a smile. “Seriously, I want to help.”

  “Okay, then if you’re sure, Mooch and I both thank you.”

  As he pocketed the check, he continued, “Other than that, I have to find someone who can foster Mooch until I get home. I was planning on asking Callie, but she just took another short term job where she’ll be living in a hotel.”

  Just that quickly the knot was back in his gut. Who else could he ask?

  Nick joined them on the floor as he fended off Mooch’s determined efforts to lick him some more. “I’ve got that covered.”

  Spence grabbed Mooch. “Down, dog. We’re trying to talk here.”

  When he got him settled in his lap, he asked, “You’ve got what covered?”

  For the first time in ages, Nick’s smile reached his eyes. “I knew finding someone to foster Mooch might be a problem for you, so I asked my folks if they could take him if Callie couldn’t. I’d already told them about how he took one for the team. They said to tell you they’d be honored to take care of him for us until we get home.”

  He pulled a printout of an e-mail from his pants’ pocket. “There’s their contact information. Tell the dog people to let them know when and where to pick Mooch up, and they’ll be there.”

  Spence could hardly choke out his thanks around the lump in his throat. “Thanks, man, and thank your folks for me. It means a lot.”

  As if understanding something major was going on, Mooch abandoned Spence to crawl onto Leif’s lap, who hugged the dog and gave him a good scratch.

  Mooch moved onto Nick next. Spence watched as Nick held him close, burying his face in the dog’s warm fur. “I just figured that when we touch down back home, it will be nice to have someone other than my folks waiting to welcome us home.”

  “All of this will be tough on the little guy, but he’ll handle it. Soldiers are tough.” Leif reached over to ruffle Mooch’s fur. “Wheels, I bet he’ll go nuts when he sees us coming.”

  Spence could just picture it. “Yeah, he will, but it’ll be a good kind of nuts.”

  Nick released his hold on Mooch, but the dog seemed content to stay right where he was. “A good kind of nuts. I like that.”

  Spence reached for the computer. “I’ll let them know we’ve made arrangements for your folks to meet Mooch’s flight.”

  As he e-mailed the organization the necessary details, Nick got a call. “Looks like we’re needed again. Mooch, behave.”

  Spence patted the dog on the head and followed his friends at a run. He stopped at the door and looked back one last time only to see Mooch dragging Nick’s pillow off his bed again.

  “Dog, you’re playing with fire.”

  Then he laughed and headed out into the bright sunshine, ready to face whatever the day brought. After all, there was one thing he knew for sure: no matter what happened, his friends would always have his back.

  Continue reading for a sneak peek at an excerpt from

  A TIME FOR HOME

  coming from Signet Eclipse in September 2013.

  Available wherever books and eBooks are sold.

  “We’re almost there, boy. Then you can stretch your legs.”

  Nick’s canine companion was too busy sniffing the wind to care. Mooch had kept his nose stuck out the window since the minute they’d gotten in the truck. He reached over to pat the dog on the back, still carrying on the one-sided conversation.

  “I bet it smells a whole lot different than the streets of Afghanistan, doesn’t it?”

  Mooch thumped his tail in agreement. In truth, everything here was a whole lot different. Nick scanned the road ahead. So much green that it hurt his eyes. He had to tip his head back to see to the top of the firs and cedars that crowded close to the two lane highway. They made him claustrophobic. Too many hiding spots for snipers. Only one way through them, leaving him no avenue of escape.

  Nick flexed his hands on the steering wheel and reminded himself that he’d left all that behind weeks ago.

  No one here wanted him dead. Not yet, anyway.

  “Think she’ll forgive me?”

  Nick hoped so, because he hadn’t been able to forgive himself. Something in his voice finally had Mooch looking at him, the dog’s dark eyes filled with sympathy. Of course, maybe Nick was only imagining that the mutt understood every word he said. There was no denying the dog had known his own share of suffering back in his homeland.

  His shaggy fur almost hid the jagged scar where a bullet had caught him in the shoulder. Mooch had taken one for the team when he barked to warn them about an asshole lying in ambush. The bastard had shot the dog to shut him up, but too late to do himself any good. In retaliation, the squad had made damn sure it was the last time he ever pulled a trigger. Nick’s buddy Spence had carried the wounded dog back to camp and conned one of the army vets into stitching him up. After a brief swearing-in ceremony, Mooch had become a full-fledged member of their unit.

  In war, some heroes walked on four legs, not two.

  Nick spotted a sign up ahead. He slowed to read it, hoping he was about to reach civilization. He’d left I-5 behind sometime ago and hadn’t expected it to take this long to reach Snowberry Creek. He had mixed feelings about what would happen once he reached the small town, but
the two of them had been on the move long enough. Some downtime would feel pretty good.

  But instead of announcing the city limits, the sign marked the entrance of a small cemetery. Nick started to drive on past, but a sick feeling in his gut had him slowing down and then backing up.

  He put the truck in park and dropped his forehead down on the top of the steering wheel. In a town the size of Snowberry Creek, how many cemeteries could there be? He reached for the door handle and forced himself to get out of the truck. Sooner or later he was going to have to do this. Nick had never been a coward and wasn’t about to start now.

  “Come on, Mooch. We’ve got a stop to make.”

  The dog crawled down out of the seat. Once on the ground, he gave himself a thorough shake from nose to tail before following Nick up the slope toward the rows of gravestones. Normally, Mooch liked to explore new places on his own, but this time he walked alongside Nick, silently offering his support.

  It didn’t take long to find what they were looking for. There were several granite markers with the last name of Lang. Nick hung a right and followed the row, finally reaching a longer than normal stone that held the name of a husband and wife, most likely Spence’s parents. Nick had to force himself to take those last few steps to stand in front of the last headstone.

  He dropped to his knees on the green grass and wrapped his arms around his stomach. God, it hurt so fucking much to see Spence’s name etched there in block letters. His eyes burned with the need to cry, but the tears refused to come. Instead, the pain stayed locked tight inside his chest and in his head, a burden he’d been carrying since he’d held Spence’s bloody dog tags in his hand.

  As the memories began playing out in Nick’s head, Mooch whined and snuggled closer. But even the familiar touch of the dog’s soft fur couldn’t keep Nick grounded in the present. His guilt and his fear sucked him right back to the last place he wanted to be. Just that quickly, he was in the streets of Afghanistan, riding next to Spence on yet another patrol. Instead of breathing the cool, damp air of Washington, Nick was sucking in hot dry air and feeling the sun burning down from above as he got caught up in the past and living through it all over again.